But again, this place feels… right.
Even more so now.
And I own half of it, so fuck that, I’m not leaving.
“Keo, I—” I stop mid-sentence, because when I look for him, he’s gone.
Shit. Does he really hate me that much for what happened?
6
Age 14
“I’m so, SO freaking excited you decided to do cheer with me, Ayden.” I drape an arm over Mandy’s shoulder as she chatters away, words spilling faster than I can keep up with. “It’s going to be so fun traveling with the team together.”
“That’s if I’m good enough,” I murmur as we weave through the gym’s hallway, the rubber soles of our sneakers squeaking against the polished floor. Beyond the double metal doors in front of us is the football field, and our fate…
I’m being dramatic.I’m kidding. It’s not that serious.
“They’d be stupid not to pick you.”
“You’re supposed to say that as one of my best friends.”
She huffs. “I would never lie to you.”
I’m not really a sports person, but I’ve always had the upper body strength for it, and I make a solid base for the flyers. Years of spotting Alysa while she tumbled her way through gymnastics drilled that into me. Trying out just made sense—Dad says it’ll lookgood on my Stanford application, or whichever school I decided to aim for. Everyone says colleges eat up athletes, and although I know my grades will get me somewhere, another leg up won’t hurt.
The metal doors squeal as we push through, and suddenly it’s like stepping into a sea of bodies. At least a hundred students are already scattered across the football field, buzzing with nerves and excitement. With nearly four thousand kids at our Denver high school, I shouldn’t be surprised—but the sheer number still makes my stomach flip.
Glad I didn’t have to perform in front of this many people.
We drift toward our crew: Ian, Alysa—strictly along for moral support—Roxanne, and Amber. A few other familiar faces linger at the edges, girls whose names slip my mind but whose smiles brighten as Mandy and I approach.
“Ayden!”
“Hey, guys.”
“I swear you look cuter every dang day, Ayden.”
I roll my eyes, but can’t keep myself from grinning.
“Don’t inflate his head,” Alysa groans out.
I’m way too young for a relationship, and truthfully, everyone I’ve come to be around hasn’t sparked any feelings other than friendship. Though, I won’t tell Mandy that. I feel like that would hurt her feelings, and she’d probably stop hanging out with me. Regardless, she’s not made any move other than pushing to sit beside me all the time. Which is fine. I won’t lie, I enjoy the attention.
We plop down in a circle, Ian to my right and Mandy to my left. Though, Alysa does squeeze close enough she’s basically sitting in the latter’s lap.
“How’s the first few weeks of high school been, Ayden?” one of the girls I don’t know the name of, asks. I’m pretty sure she’s a sophomore though.
I shrug one of my shoulders before leaning back onto my hands. “Pretty cool, honestly.”
“Of course it is.” Ian jabs my side. “You’re the poster child of perfection. The only thing you’re missing is the blond hair.”
Shaking my head, I prepare to bite back a comment about howhe’s the pretty boy here, when Alysa busts out laughing. “Poster child? Oh man, you should smell his?—”
“Lefty, I’ll end you right here, right now, if you finish that statement.”
That has everyone doubled over with laughter, and I think we might all have started rolling around in the grass if the announcer weren’t blasting across the field at us.
